Rep. Chris Van Hollen will stay on as DCCC head through 2010.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – After telling reporters last week that he wasn't planning to run for another term as the head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Rep. Chris Van Hollen has changed his mind and agreed to stay on for the 2010 election cycle, two senior Democratic congressional sources confirmed to CNN.

The Washington Post first reported the Maryland congressman's decision.

With Van Hollen at the helm of the DCCC this year House Democrats picked up 19 seats, with results from another six House races still outstanding. These gains follow 30 Democratic pickups in the House in 2006, when the party took control of the chamber after 12 years in the minority.

Speaker Pelosi also tapped Van Hollen for another leadership role, giving him the post of Assistant to the Speaker. One aide described this as a way to give the Maryland Democrat a bigger role at the leadership table: "He has a bigger portfolio — it expands it to policy, it's not just political."

With Van Hollen taking himself out of the race to replace Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel as Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, Pelosi avoids a fight for the number four position. The job is now virtually assured to go to Emanuel's vice chairman, Connecticut Congressman John Larson.

Hayes is facing a tough reelection race.

(CNN) — A North Carolina congressman locked in a tight re-election race admitted Tuesday to recently telling a crowd of John McCain supporters that "liberals hate real Americans," the latest in a string of comments from Republicans that appear to question Democrats' patriotism.

Rep. Robin Hayes, a five-term Republican who has been heavily targeted by Democrats this election cycle, first denied making the remarks, but conceded Monday afternoon that he was accurately quoted.

"After reading it, there is no doubt that it came out completely the wrong way," Hayes said. “I actually was trying to work to keep the crowd as respectful as possible, so this is definitely not what I intended."

The comments came at a McCain rally in Concord, North Carolina Saturday before the Arizona senator or members of his staff had arrived at the event. As first reported by the New York Observer, Hayes said, "Liberals hate real Americans that work and achieve and believe in God."

Hayes also told the raucous crowd to make sure "we don't say something stupid, make sure we don't say something we don't mean," warning the news media would likely distort such remarks.

In his statement Tuesday, Hayes suggested he meant to differentiate between the liberal and conservative philosophies rather than directly impugn the patriotism of his opponents.

"Liberals are advocating higher taxes, which I believe punish success — and they are advocating policies like gay marriage that I feel undermine strong families," he said. "We have a strong difference of opinion about the future of our nation, but obviously this was the wrong way to get that difference of opinion across."

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Hayes is facing a tough reelection race.

(CNN) — A North Carolina congressman locked in a tight re-election race admitted Tuesday to recently telling a crowd of John McCain supporters that "liberals hate real Americans," the latest in a string of comments from Republicans that appear to question Democrats' patriotism.

Rep. Robin Hayes, a five-term Republican who has been heavily targeted by Democrats this election cycle, first denied making the remarks, but conceded Monday afternoon that he was accurately quoted.

"After reading it, there is no doubt that it came out completely the wrong way," Hayes said. “I actually was trying to work to keep the crowd as respectful as possible, so this is definitely not what I intended."

The comments came at a McCain rally in Concord, North Carolina Saturday before the Arizona senator or members of his staff had arrived at the event. As first reported by the New York Observer, Hayes said, "Liberals hate real Americans that work and achieve and believe in God."

Hayes also told the raucous crowd to make sure "we don't say something stupid, make sure we don't say something we don't mean," warning the news media would likely distort such remarks.

In his statement Tuesday, Hayes suggested he meant to differentiate between the liberal and conservative philosophies rather than directly impugn the patriotism of his opponents.

"Liberals are advocating higher taxes, which I believe punish success — and they are advocating policies like gay marriage that I feel undermine strong families," he said. "We have a strong difference of opinion about the future of our nation, but obviously this was the wrong way to get that difference of opinion across."

Read the rest of this entry »

Van Hollen said Bush's policies were responsible for high gas prices.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — House Democrats will use a President Bush impersonator in a new radio advertising campaign that seeks to link 13 incumbent Republicans to rising gas prices as the country heads into the Fourth of July holiday.

The ad will run Monday through Friday in radio markets throughout the country, according to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, with a total buy of more than $100,000.

After an opening tailor-made for each targeted Republican, the impersonator then reads this boilerplate script:

"'W' here, wanted to thank you for your support of the big oil energy agenda. 'Preciate you voting to keep giving billions in tax breaks to the big oil companies. Sure, gasoline is over four bucks a gallon and the oil companies are making record profits, but what's good for big oil is good for America, right? I guess that's why they call us the Grand Oil Party. Heh, heh, heh."

CLICK PLAY to HEAR the DCCC's Bush impersonator

Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen, chairman of the DCCC, told CNN that Democrats chose to use a Bush impersonator because the president's "big oil energy policies delivered high gas prices to the American people, so who better to deliver our message than someone who sounds like him? Every time Americans fill up their tanks or buy groceries high gas prices grab their attention, so it's important to give credit where credit is due."

Danny Diaz, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, sharply criticized the ad and said Democrats were being disingenuous.

"It is an outrageous attack," Diaz said. "It seems like it would be more appropriate leveled against Barack Obama who voted for the '05 energy bill, yet Democrats rail against subsidies to energy companies. The hypocrisy is stunning."

(List of targeted Republicans after the jump)

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Van Hollen is chairman of the DCCC.

(CNN) — The top Democrat charged with helping his party maintain control of the House in 2008 warned Tuesday congressional candidates could suffer if the Democratic presidential race turns overly negative.

Speaking at a press briefing with reporters, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen predicted the Democrats will pick up House seats in November, but said the ongoing contest between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama remains a "variable."

"We've seen the energy and excitement in the early Democratic primaries, and the only thing that could hurt or cut back on that is if the Democratic primary gets so divisive that it's difficult to patch it up and heal the wounds in time to be together in November," said Van Hollen, who has not endorsed either candidate.

"We need to make sure that both candidates stay positive so you don't leave lasting wounds that will depress in anyway that kind of energy and enthusiasm," he added. "I don't think we are at that point. I do think there is a danger of reaching that point."

At the same briefing, Clinton backer and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Chuck Schumer sounded a less dire tone, saying the hotly-contested race will benefit the party come November.

“Each is getting to refine their message and battle test their campaigns in this primary," he said. "I don't think any damaging blows have been landed by one or the other, and damaging to the general election, and I think both are very strong candidates."

The DCCC is out with a new Web ad Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, looking to link high gas prices to congressional Republicans, released a new Web ad Wednesday that paints the GOP as a key ally of the oil industry.

Set to the tune of the one-time Golden Girls theme song — Andrew Gold's "Thank You for Being a Friend" — the ad scrolls through news headlines proclaiming the increase of gas prices, and says “Republicans opposed punishing price gougers," and "The oil and gas company thanked Republicans with millions of dollars."

"Thanks to the Republican road blocks in Congress, gas prices continued to skyrocket just in time for the holiday travel rush — ensuring that millions of dollars flowed into the pockets of their Big Oil friends and out of the pockets of America's hardworking families," DCCC Executive Director Brian Wolff wrote in a fundraising e-mail showcasing the video.

The DCCC’s Republican counterpart, the National Republican Congressional Committee, shot back with a release — “Democrats Line Pockets with Oil and Gas Money” – that accused Democrats of abandoning campaign pledges to address surging prices at the pump.

– CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney

Rep. Cole is chairman of the NRCC.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Bush’s poll numbers are hovering around 30 percent and Congress’s are even lower, but National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Oklahoma, said Thursday he “feels good” about his party’s chances in the 2008 congressional races.

In a briefing with reporters, Cole said the NRCC has recruited 15 to 20 “strong candidates” in districts that were closely fought in 2006, and said they were “pragmatic professional decision makers." He also said he expects an anti-incumbent mood to collectively benefit his party, which currently finds itself in the minority.

But Cole’s job is made more difficult by the NRCC’s financial disadvantage relative to its counterpart, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Cole said Thursday that the committee raised between $13 million and $14 million dollars in the second quarter, and currently only has $2 million cash on hand. Meanwhile the DCCC said Thursday it had raised $17 million in the same period and has $19.5 million on hand — nearly ten times more than the NRCC.

Both committees face debts of around $4 million.

As for the President’s influence in the congressional races, Cole said "he won't be the decisive figure in the '08 election. There will be a new face on the Republican Party."

Cole also downplayed the effect of any particular Democratic candidate in motivating his party’s voters.

“I don’t think people vote for or against their representative on the basis of their presidential nominee,” he said.

– CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney

WASHINGTON (CNN) — The National Republican Congressional Committee came out with a new Web video Thursday that they claim highlights "the Democrat majority’s broken promises, abysmal record and rock-bottom approval rating."

The 2 minute 47 second video features Linda Ronstadt's hit "You're No Good," while highlighting several media reports on Congress' low approval ratings and the Democrats' performance since taking control of the chamber in January.

“House Democrats have failed to deliver on their campaign promises to change Washington ,” NRCC Communications Director Jessica Boulanger said in a statement announcing the video. “This Democrat team can’t get the job done and the American people are taking notice.”

The NRCC Web video comes as the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee tells CNN they will target seven Republicans in a five-day radio ad buy next week accusing the GOP lawmakers of having a poor record on veterans’ issues.

– CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney

Clinton spoke at the Take Back America conference Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Trying to win over her party's liberal activists, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Wednesday accused President Bush of disregarding the Constitution and promised to bring a new progressive vision to the White House.

Bush's government has "a stunning record of secrecy and corruption, of cronyism run amok," she said in one of the more partisan speeches of her campaign. "It is everything our founders were afraid of, everything our Constitution was designed to prevent."

Clinton returned to the Take Back America conference where she was booed last year for opposing a set date for pulling U.S. troops from Iraq. This time, she said she is working to deauthorize the war.

Her comments on Iraq at the end of her 30-minute speech drew heckles, but she also won applause for promising to get out of Iraq and for embracing liberal positions on domestic issues such as health care, worker rights, education and stem cell research.

Related: Where Clinton stands on the issues

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN)–Howard Dean says it is incumbent on Democrats to bring the war in Iraq to a close, or risk becoming the minority party in Congress again.

"The American people hired Democrats last November to ensure we end this war, so let me be clear." Dean made the remarks Saturday in the Democratic response the President's weekly radio address. "We know if we don't keep our promise, we may find ourself in the minority again. But we have to face the reality. The Republicans in Congress are standing with President Bush as he stubbornly wields his veto pen in the face of overwhelming opposition to this war from the American people."

Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, is a former governor of Vermont, and was a candidate for president in 2004.

– CNN Political Desk Editor Jamie Crawford